Campus aid Kate King hugs parents as she welcomes students back to Colfax Charter Elementary in Valley Village on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 after a six-day LAUSD teachers strike. Aids were not on strike with the teachers and King was on campus working during the strike. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

The choice was especially tough for such LAUSD teachers as Willis, who instructs advanced-placement biology at Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation in Harbor City.

Located on the campus of Los Angeles Harbor College, the school caters to first generation college-bound students from socioeconomic disadvantaged backgrounds and undeserved minorities. In recent years, the school has boasted a 100 percent graduation rate with 90 percent of its 450 students getting into a four-year college.

Willis said she understood how important it was for her students to stay on track. They have advancement placement tests in May, which can determine whether students receive college credit for their work and get them into the best college possible. So, Willis prepared ahead of time like she would for a scheduled absence or a winter vacation.

“Before the strike a lot of teachers including myself issued homework,” Willis said. “I know they just continued doing their homework over the break.”

By issuing assignments ahead of time and communicating with students through a variety of digital means — including Google Classroom and other online applications — AP teachers and principals interviewed for this story said their students have hardly missed a beat. If the strike had gone any longer, however, that might have been a different story, they said.

The strike seemed to end just in time for Bell High School teacher Heather Wilson, who teaches AP English and oversees the school’s Academic Decathlon program. Thursday, Jan. 24, just the second day back in school after the labor dispute, was the first day of the essay competition.

“We’re just thrilled we got the opportunity to compete,” Wilson said. “We are making due and I think we are going to be okay.”

While many students spent time during the strike at friends’ homes or cruising the mall, honors students like those on Wilson’s team continued to study. The Decathlon team met at school on Saturday, Jan. 19 and at a park during Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 21.

“The study schedule at this time of year is pretty intense already,” Wilson said. “They worked really hard and they are so dedicated. I am so fortunate.”

Darla Lavi, a 17-year-old senior at Cleveland Charter High in Reseda, said she spent the days during the strike on the picket lines with her students and the evenings studying. She said her teachers really prepared her in advance of their walkout.

“We were able to get right back into the swing of things. I feel like it was a seamless transition,” Lavi said.

Cindy Duong, the principal at Cleveland Charter High as well as an AP English teacher, said teachers were doing a phenomenal job being flexible in their lesson plans in order to get back on track after the strike.

David Rosenfeld has been working as a professional journalist for nearly 20 years at newspapers, magazines and websites. He's covered murder trials, interviewed governors and presidential candidates and once did a flip in a biplane for a story assignment. Before joining The Daily Breeze in 2018 to cover El Segundo, Hawthorne and aerospace, he worked at The Beach Reporter in Redondo Beach. In his free time, David loves outdoor sports such as sailing, mountain biking and golfing.